Atalanta 0-1 Liverpool (3-1 agg): Europa League quarter-final, second leg – as it happened (2024)

That’s me done. Thanks for reading, and for your emails. Congratulations to Atalanta, worthy winners over the two legs. It now looks a very real possibility that Klopp’s final season will finish with just Carabao Cup silverware.

A significant step forward for Italian football tonight: with tonight’s results Italy have mathematically secured an fifth Champions League spot and …

Andy Hunter was at the Gee-Whizz! Gewiss Stadium.

Eeeeeesh.

Atalanta face one of Marseille or Benfica, which is into extra time now.

Leverkusen will face Roma, after De Rossi’s side beat Milan 2-1 (3-1 agg) in their quarter-final.

Virgil van Dijk speaks:

Credit to Atalanta. Last week the damage was done. They had the perfect game. They deserve to go through. We have to quickly, very quickly, turn this around and travel to London. We need every person for this last push.

We had opportunities tonight. There was still time. Maybe sometimes we wanted it too quickly. Overall, it was better than last week, but not enough.

Showing togetherness and professionalism is the key to be ready for [Fulham]. Physically and mentally. I feel disappointed but we don’t have a lot of time to feel this. We need the fans now more than ever. Anything is still possible.

Aston Villa are the only English side left in European competition.

It’s now full-time: West Ham 1-1 Bayer Leverkusen (1-3 agg). That’s four English sides that have been dumped out of Europe this week.

Meanwhile in east London, it’s not great news for another English side …

Atalanta reach their first European semi-final since 1988! They will face one of Marseille or Benfica, who are currently tied 2-2 on aggregate and heading into extra time in one of the other quarter-finals.

The players invade the pitch. The home sides bounce in the stand. Gasperini, aged 66 but still with a boyish charm, smiles broadly. Congratulazioni!

Atalanta are through to the Europa League semi-finals! Liverpool are out of Europe!

90+1 min: Zappacosta is cautioned for holding onto Jota, stopping a rare Liverpool counter-attack. A good foul, from Atalanta’s point of view.

90 min: Liverpool have been worse since the changes. Atalanta win a corner. They are coasting to victory here. Three minutes added on.

88 min: Liverpool look completely out of ideas. Based upon this performance, I wouldn’t feel confident for the trip to Fulham on Sunday, if I was a Liverpool fan.

86 min: A hopeful cross from Elliott is caught by Musso, who is playing for time.

84 min: It’s nice starting the game with a three-goal cushion, but you have to give Atalanta credit here again. At half-time, it felt like a full-strength Liverpool were still in the ascendency. But the home side have stifled and suffocated in the second half, and might even have nicked a goal of their own. At the moment they are fully deserving of a semi-final place.

82 min: Liverpool have resorted to pumping it long to Nunez. But they can’t get close to the second ball. This all feels quite rudimentary.

80 min: Here we go. A last throw of the dice for Liverpool. Robertson off, Danns – the young striker and son of Neil – is on. Gakpo looks like he’s playing as a makeshift left wing back.

Atalanta also make another sub: London-born Lookman, formerly of Charlton and Everton, for Miranchuk.

78 min: Yellow card for Koopmeiners, who trips Mac Allister. Can Liverpool capitalise from a set piece? Nope, Robertson’s delivery goes straight into the arms of Musso.

77 min: Liverpool don’t look like scoring anytime soon. Hien, the Swede signed from Verona in January, has been excellent at the back for Atalanta, just as he was in the first leg.

75 min: Atalanta respond with two changes of their own: Scamacca and Ederson off for Pasalic and De Ketelaere.

74 min: Liverpool make another change, Gomez for Alexander-Arnold. Klopp has yet to throw everyone forward. He will surely have to change the shape soon.

72 min: Fair play to the Atalanta fans, they are making themselves heard, roaring their team on. A reminder that this stadium is currently smaller than Watford’s Vicarage Road.

70 min: “Profligacy has been the theme of Liverpool’recent poor results against Atalanta and Crystal Palace” emails Colum Fordham. “Salah’s missed lob is just the latest in the series. Maybe Jota could be the telling substitution. Or agent of chaos-in-chief Darwin Nunez”.

Liverpool are not wasting chances at present. They aren’t creating any. That said, Jota is Liverpool’s most efficient finisher this season, scoring every 117 minutes.

68 min: Klopp makes a much-needed triple change. Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott are on for Mohamed Salah, Luis Diaz and Dominik Szoboszlai. They are seemingly like-for-like swaps.

66 min: Liverpool are ragged! They have to push for these two goals but gaps will surely open up at the back, particularly with no Endo/a natural No 6 in midfield. Miranchuk has an easy pass to Koopmeiners, but the Russian overhits his through ball! Gasperini will be fuming. The game is there to be finished.

64 min: Liverpool are getting increasingly sloppy/desperate. Alexander-Arnold twice gives the ball away. Jones, too, is guilty of wasting possession.

62 min: Both sides could do with freshening things up. Time is ticking along. But that will suit Atalanta just fine. A lazy flick from Gakpo allows Atalanta to pounce. Zappacosta does well to find Koopmeiners on the edge of Liverpool’s box, and the Dutchman fires fiercely at Alisson, who saves neatly.

60 min: Van Dijk forces Musso into a save from a deep Liverpool free-kick, but it’s not a testing effort in truth.

58 min: Atalanta really struggling in possession. They need Koopmeiners, Ederson and De Roon to get hold of the ball. Miranchuk has been useless.

56 min: Gakpo breaks the offside trap, but the pass is overhit and the Dutchman has to check his run. Liverpool are then guilty of overplaying: Szoboszlai and Gakpo both waste chances to shoot, and eventually Salah is ruled offside. A waste!

54 min: Liverpool probing without any real penetration. Atalanta are defending deep and happy enough for Diaz, Gakpo and Salah to have the ball in wide areas. There is currently no focal point. I wonder when we might see Nunez, or even Jota.

52 min: A brief mix up between Atalanta keeper Musso and his defenders leaves the ball loose and the goal gaping, but Kolasinac clears up, thumping the ball to safety.

50 min: Big chance for Atalanta! Zappacosta digs out a low cross and it finds Miranchuk on the penalty spot. The Russian and Ederson both last shots on goal, but a combination of blocks and an Alisson save keep the hosts at bay. A nervous start to the second half for Liverpool!

49 min: Atalanta win their first corner and it’s an atrocious short routine followed by a cross that more resembled a clearance. Eeeeesh.

47 min: A good stat – 63% of Liverpool’s goals have come in the second half (or extra time) this season.

We’re off again in Bergamo. Gasperini spoke in his press conference about this being potentially Atalanta’s biggest ever game. It remains to be seen if that will spur the home side on or act as a burden. The home side have only ever reached a European semi-final once before.

“In the Barcelona match, the halftime score was 1-0 to Liverpool,” emails Rupak Pramanik. “If Atalanta can keep the scoreboard same till 70-75 minutes, they’ll be favourites. Till then, Liverpool are gonna hound them like a pack of wild dogs.”

Half-time reading:

“Don’t even bother with pens when Emi Martinez is in goal,” emails Gareth Rogers of Aston Villa’s shootout win over Lille. “It’s already over”.

The score is probably a fair reflection of play, although Salah will be kicking himself for missing that late chance. Liverpool need two more goals to take this to extra time.

45 min: Two minutes added on here. Atalanta’s fans have found their voice. They are nearly at the half-way mark, and still have a two-goal advantage. Belief is growing.

43 min: Atalanta centre back Hien is shown a yellow card for a cynical handball, stopping a through ball from reaching Diaz. The Colombian is furious and approaches the referee asking for a red card, before Diaz is shown a yellow card of his own for dissent. Yellow for Hien is probably the right colour, the offence was too far from goal and there was a covering defender in Djimsiti.

Alexander-Arnold has a free-kick 30 yards out, but the right back smashes it right into the Atalanta wall.